A fish-out-of-water in a small town finds herself in a dangerous waters when an affair leads to a deadly event.
synopsis
A young woman returns home to the family farm after being estranged for more than a decade. Charged with the task of aiding her Alzheimer's afflicted dying mother, Amber's good intentions are thwarted by disillusionment. Evading failed dreams of the Hollywood limelight she yearns for a simple family lifestyle.
Amber can't shake the bad behavior that landed her in the tough spot she so abruptly fled. The small town rumor mill dredges up painful scars a' la #metoo. This homecoming is destined for a wild upheaval.
A fiery affair unfolds between the newcomer and a local married man. Lust and obsession engulf the pair. Secrets can't stay silent forever.
When a horrible accident occurs, Bill bullies his lover into bonding in a cover-up. Amber must find the strength to rise up, put the needs of others before herself and become a real hero.
LOOK AND TONE
Ugly Pretty is a homecoming tale turned crime thriller. Young Adult turns into Fatal Attraction taking place in a town like Three Billboards. Slow paced and quiet, small town Pennsylvania is predictable. The script is filled with localisms that will transport the audience to this "Dutch Country" world. The pacing amps up as we move forward unraveling the dark pasts and the complex emotions of the characters. The third act hits like a freight train. Nothing happens in a small town... until it does.
Hollis Sherman-Pepe, owner of Farmer’s Daughter Productions, has been working professionally for ten plus years. Her first film "Valediction" was funded on Kickstarter in 2012 and won 9 awards including Best New Filmmaker at Phila. Indep. Film Fest, and Best Picture at L.A. Int'l Underground Film Fest. This snowballed her career and she has since gone on to create more award winning short films (Best Picture - 2018 L.A. Under 5 Feedback Film Fest; Best Experimental Film - 2018 California Women's Film Fest, et al.) as well as direct web series content.
Hollis received a BFA in Theater Arts at The University of the Arts. Her acting career brought her to Los Angeles where she continued her education for the past ten years in screen-acting, as well as the tremendous amount of skills she learned from years working on set as a Production Assistant and Carpenter.
This film "Ugly Pretty" will be her debut feature film. After it's completion Hollis has as exciting feature length screenplay about a young gay boy escaping a bad situation with his misfortune mother. She intends to shoot this project as well.
Jean Louise O’Sullivan is an actress, writer, producer from West Chester, Pennsylvania. She is a graduate from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and The National Theater Institute. Dubbed a “Scream Queen” early in her career for staring in many horror genre films she has since become known for comedy by working with some of today’s most popular comedians. She developed and produced the micro-budget feature film “The Bates Haunting”, and secured a distribution deal that earned the film a wide streaming and DVD release. After it’s initial success, “The Bates Haunting” was dubbed in French, secured international distribution deal, and received overseas theatrical release. She has produced commercials, short films, video installations for premiere haunted attractions, and many sketch comedy videos that can be enjoyed on YouTube. She has worked for Vayner Creative Agency and in international distribution for Full Moon Empire. She currently works for Rooster Films www.Rooster-Films.com and lives in New York City.
ShaunPaul Costello started making feature films after receiving a Cinematography degree from Temple University. His first film was the award winning comedy, “Swooped”, which he co-wrote and starred in. He has since gone on to produce four other features: “Between Wars”, starring Michael Imperioli and Harley Flanagan, “Close-up”, starring Alan Ruck (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), Ryan Dunn (Jackass) and James Cagney (White Heat); and produced and directed the film “Booted” starring Brian Anthony Wilson (The Wire), Marc Summers (Unwrapped), Colin Quinn (SNL), Tony Luke Jr.
ShaunPaul continues his education at Play House West, under the tutelage of Tony Savant. He has produced more than 38 short films for the school in the last three years. Behind the camera ShaunPaul has produced and directed several music videos of note, television commercials for companies such as Comcast, A.D. Moyer, and Ford et al..
Jess Weiss is an accomplished producer with more than ten years of production experience in feature and short films, television, fiction and documentary, theater, commercials, branded campaigns, corporate videos and live events. Originally hailing from Rio de Janeiro this New Yorker’s films have screened in festivals worldwide such as Tribeca Film Festival, Inside-Out Film Festival, and Palm Springs International Film Festival. Many of her films are currently available on all major streaming platforms. Jess has worked with stars Mark Boone Junior, Marilyn Manson, and Academy Award nominee Alfre Woodard to name a few. Her projects are as diverse as they are celebrated. Not only does Weiss have firsthand experience filming in Pennsylvania but she is versed in creating top shelf productions at a variety of budget levels that have achieved successful distribution. Her passion, creativity and experience will help make Ugly Pretty a profitable picture.
Rainer Lipski is an award winning Director of Photography. Hailing from Berlin, he has been recognized internationally and has worked in 18 countries. Since 1999 he has shot 8 features, over 190 commercials, 30 short films and multiple music videos and television series.
His passion for Cinematography began during the exciting 90’s Berlin art scene. The ambitious Lipski received two filmmaking diplomas from prestigious film schools and began working professionally immediately thereafter. In 2006 he received his Masters in Cinematography at Filmakademie Baden Wuerttemberg. Being recognized for his talent and Lipski received a scholarship to masterclass, “The Hollywood Experience” at UCLA. This much sought after cinematographer continued his success with his third year film premiering at Munich International Film Festival, and thesis project winning the Young Director Award at Cannes. He has since been traveling and shooting worldwide, including with three Golden Lion Winning Directors. Lipski has still somehow found the time to teach at the University of the Arts of Berlin and lecture at Los Angeles International Film School. Lipski’s 2019 experimental film “Remission” was nominated for Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance and won the Best Cinematography Award at Athens Short Film Festival, amongst many other awards. This will be Rainer and Hollis’s second collaboration.
Lindsay Shaw - Leading Lady “Amber”
Lindsey has been a working actress most of her life. She is most well known for playing Paige in “Pretty Little Liars” as well as Moze in “Ned’s Declassified School Survival guide”. Shaw’s acting career has been full and she is a powerhouse talent with a bright future.
Our production is thrilled to have her on board and can’t wait to cast her counterpart.
Writer's statement
Growing up in small town Pennsylvania is an amalgam of bucolic countryside with it's wholesome farmers, encroaching countryside, and healthy flavor of hillbilly. A city girl returns to her roots and struggles to not only fit in but to reinvent herself. The Pacing of the film escalates as time passes and our protagonist sets herself up for a hurricane in ACT III.
My aim is for the audience to find empathy for this scarred heroine. The more expected role of a sexually driven character has been flipped from male to female. The choices we make as humans come from complex thoughts, feelings, and past experience. Here we have a character that sees herself in a righteous light where the social norm would be to call her a home-wrecker.
I want to push the audience’s comfort level, daring them to live out their fantasies through voyeurism. UGLY PRETTY feels nostalgic and self-reflecting while simultaneously building tension to the point of eruption
marketing
Audiences are hungry for female driven content as seen in the success of WONDER WOMAN, BLACK SWAN, and THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT, and BLUE JASMIN.
Our target audience goes to see both indie thrillers and 30s coming-of-age films. The audience for indie thrillers with respect to 18+ content in both male and female demographics are ages 18-50. Indie thrillers like LOOPER and BABY DRIVER grossed 177MM and 175MM respectively. Gen X disillusionment/Coming of age films have notoriously been very well received in festivals like Sundance and Toronto Film Fest, for example YOUNG ADULT, LOST IN TRANSLATION, and GARDEN STATE.
Female directed films of note include WONDER WOMAN, LADY BIRD, HURT LOCKER, THE TWILIGHT SERIES, MAMA MIA, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, and MUDBOUND. The producer of Ugly Pretty aims to join the collective of successful female directed films.
For complete Pitch Deck and Budget, questions, script, or to make an investment offer please contact:
Ms Hollis Sherman-Pepe / Producer
Email: farmersdaughterpro@gmail.com
IMDB: http://imdb.me/hollisshermanpepe